Former teacher now works to make a difference outside classroom

Linda Lugar will never forget a new jacket she immediately gave away — because what was a castoff to her made a young man's day.

The executive director of the United Way of Southern West Virginia said her son bought her a Carolina Panthers coat that was "puffy." When she put the coat on, it made her look like a "big blob." She would soon be delivering coats to the Pinehaven Homeless Shelter, and she decided to give the coat away.

When she arrived to make the drop-off, a young man she believed was about 19 rushed outside to help her. Lugar said the young man was smiling and very polite. He saw the Carolina Panthers jacket and really wanted it — and she wanted him to have it.

"It was my jacket, so I gave it to him, personally," Lugar said. "It was just the look on his face. It didn't matter that it was new and that I gave it away — just the look on his face. It meant so much to him.

"I can still see him."

Lugar, a former teacher, has spent her life working to make a difference in the lives of others. While raising funds to help 26 nonprofit agencies in Raleigh, Fayette and Nicholas counties is a heavy responsibility, times when she can simply make a person smile are ones that keep her going.

Lugar grew up in an area called Colfax, outside Fairmont, where she and others went to school in a building with two classrooms. Four grades would be housed in one room, and she used the opportunity to listen to older students' lessons more than her own.

By the time she reached seventh grade, the tiny school added a third room and she met Robert Jefferson, a teacher she said she would never forget.

"He was such a special teacher because he treated every student as an individual," Lugar said. "He knew your level of learning. He made sure you were constantly challenged, kept busy all day and were never bored."

When Lugar's mother accepted a job working for then-Gov. William Casey Marland, Lugar moved from her small, rural home to South Charleston. Although she was terrified at first, she realized her teachers at that small school prepared her well.

"If there ever was a country bumpkin entering South Charleston High School, that was me," she said. "It was such a large school and I worried I wouldn't fit in. But I was prepared. I never skipped a beat."

At West Virginia University, Lugar said she "bounced around" for about three years, but she always gravitated toward teaching, saying she and her sister were both "born teachers." In 1962, the 20-year-old Lugar began teaching Spanish at Oceana High School.

She would eventually leave her teaching job to stay at home with her children for 10 years, but returned when both children had started school. At Oceana Middle School, she taught reading appreciation to seventh- and eighth-graders.

"That was the most fun," she said. "It was the most tremendous experience. I love middle school kids and reading, so that was an added treat — turning them on to reading."

Lugar said her goal was to make class fun to further encourage children. When her class read Mark Twain's "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," students had a frog jumping contest — with live frogs they brought to school.

"It rained that day, but they still brought their frogs," she said. "I was on the floor with the kids because one of them brought me a frog, too. A teacher from across the hall banged on the door and came in saying, ‘When Mrs. Lugar gets back, I'm going to tell her about all of this commotion."

When teaching mythology, Lugar said she tried to "modernize" the subject and allowed her students to come to class dressed up as their favorite characters. Students were not exactly thrilled with mythology at first, but they later came to appreciate it.

"One young man who was in high school came back to the middle school and told me, ‘I hated that mythology unit, but I'm glad we did it, now. We're learning about mythology in class, and I know all about it.'

"I'll meet students I taught now, and they have smiles on their faces. We chat about school. I remember them and they remember me. I loved teaching."

Lugar would move on to other jobs in the education field — being a food service coordinator in Wyoming County, coordinating database systems for RESA I and working with at-risk youth for Workforce West Virginia. After she moved to Beckley, she had an interest in community service, and a friend suggested working with the United Way of Southern West Virginia. She began as a board member.

"When I was introduced to the United Way of Southern West Virginia, I learned money is raised at the local level and it is spent serving people here in your own hometown," she said. "That was a very rewarding thought — working to make your own community a better place for everyone."

In early 2004, Lugar became the organization's executive director. Previous directors told her she would love it and that she would have down time between fundraising campaigns.

"That may be true, but I didn't appreciate a job I didn't overdo," she said. "If I were a greeter at Wal-Mart, I would reorganize the entire store.

"I owe it to the organizations to do the best I can do. I try to be perfect, which I know I cannot be. It's very, very stressful. It's as if trying to raise $325,000 during our campaigns is like carrying bags of silver over my shoulders. It's a heavy load.

"What will happen to all the people and all the services they need if we do not make the goal? The funds we give are important to all of our agencies. Nonprofits work so hard to provide those services. If we're down by $5,000, who is going to suffer?"

But Lugar soldiers onward because she has seen so many people helped by the agencies. A woman spoke to potential donors at a workplace who was an alcoholic for several years and is now sober after help from Pinehaven. Another United Way-supported agency, Just For Kids, helps child victims of sexual abuse in both Raleigh and Fayette counties. The Raleigh County Commission on Aging receives funds for its home-delivered meals to senior citizens.

People Lugar considers heroes are the numerous ones who anonymously support the United Way, not wanting any credit in return. When she visits workplaces to encourage donations, some people who do not have much money will donate whatever they can spare, even if it is only a dollar.

"There are just so many people you want to thank, and I always feel like they're being neglected or forgotten.

"I once read that making a difference in the lives of others makes a difference in your own. It didn't strike home then, but I've come to know what that means. I love giving and getting to see the kind side of people. It's a wonderful experience. This job has enabled me to make a difference in my own life.

"That's just who I am. I'm happy to see someone smile."